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Reforged!

2010-11-11T20:48:00.000-08:00

From the ashes a fire shall be woken. A light from the shadows shall spring. Renewed shall be blade that was broken. The crownless again shall be king. -- Arwen, Lord of the Rings.

One year after breaking my ankle at the Remembrance Day Race, I returned today to finish what I started. I have been thinking about this race for a full year. During the six weeks where I could barely walk and never thought I would run again. (I even looked into speed walking online just in case...)
In retrospect I am grateful for the injury last year. My ankle hurt too much to practice speedwork so instead I opted for the long slow marathon training runs. Completing the marathon was on of the highlights of my life and I never would have done it if it had not been for my injury.
My goal today was just to finish the race with no injury. No goal times, just focus on running strong and safe in the wet and muddy conditions. My race plan was to start slow, run strong on the uphills and slow on the downhills and no ipod until the last big downhill was complete.
I was surprised to see my friend Ryan at the race. He hasn't run in a race before so he really picked a crazy one to try--a muddy hilly slick and dangerous cross country run.
The race started and as expected there was a huge rush out of the gate. About half the participants were wearing team jerseys from local universities. They were running about 6:00 pace at the start. I suppressed the urge to sprint with them and held back. Within 400m I was in last place! Perfect...right where I wanted to be.
I settled in with the last place group. There were about five of us. Two yappy girls, a tall skinny guy in a pink shirt, a heavier guy with an ipod and me. I rested in the back of the group for the first ten minutes or so. We were running an easy 8:30 pace through the rolling knolls that make up the first part of the course. Eventually though they began to slow as the inclines began to take their toll and I had to leave them behind. I spotted another runner about 200 meters ahead and sped up slowly to catch her too. Her breathing was loud and her gait was slow and heavy. It didn't take long before she also slowed. I continued to spot runners in the distance, catch them and run at their pace until they couldn't sustain the pace, at which point I would move on to the next runner ahead.
We finally reached the group of three big hills in the middle of the course. Anytime a hill has a name you know its a killer. These ones were named "Hanson", "Eagle" and "Adrian's Hill". Adrian's hill is the biggest of the three. It is also the hill where I got injured. I was both eager and anxious when I reached the hills again. I recalled my epic competition with the old man last year as we raced each other up Hanson and Eagle. I also identified what I suspect is the rock that tripped me up on Adrian's Hill. Good thing I was looking for it this time because it is naturally camouflaged on an overcast, muddy and rainy fall day like today. Funny thing, though...those hills were so much bigger in my memory. It must be all the hill training that I do.

At the bottom of Adrian's Hill I knew that the rest of the course was rolling. With no more big climbs or descents to worry about, I turned on my iPod and started running hard. I was passing more and more runners. I forgot how psychologically satisfying it is to pass people at the end of a race. Finally I broke out of the woods and onto the grassy field and the finish. The organizers had us finish by running the perimeter of the grassy field, about 400 meters or so. As soon as I hit the grass I started running harder. Around the park and up a small muddy trail to the final 100m stretch. A straight stretch to the finish where I could finally stop worrying about slipping in the mud and just run. Some elite runners were loitering at the finish line. Their eyes got big as they saw me coming and they quickly got out of the way.
After the finish I collapsed and lay on the grass. I felt great. I had achieved my goal of finishing with no injuries and I had a chance to run hard at the end. It wasn't quite a lifetime accomplishment like the marathon. Still, I have to rank this run as one of my greatest. Here I was broken and here I was remade.

Quad Cities Marathon

2010-09-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

Remember how I always said I would rather run a 10K than a marathon because after a 10K I feel great but after a marathon I may never want to run again? Remember? Because I apparently forgot that bit of wisdom over the past 6 months.

Sunday morning dawned cloudy and cool. I showered, put on my new race shirt, fuel belt with cash and I.D., and a windbreaker and headed on down to the start.

I soaked up the atmosphere. Some runners were milling about. Others were jogging--probably just trying to burn off nervous energy. I just found a place in the starting chute and relaxed. I noticed how many other runners were wearing shirts from other marathons. Eventually I found my pace bunny Marie. Marie is an elementary school phys ed teacher who paces marathons on the weekend...all over the country...every weekend! She has run over 180 marathons and even been on the Wheaties box! So I was in good hands. She would be easy to spot with a bright yellow safety vest, a hat with pace "bunny" ears and a tall sign that said "5 hours".

Instead of a starters pistol they start the race with a cannon blast! Every body started jogging towards the start line then got all bunched up and had to walk a couple of seconds before the running could actually begin. I decided not to use my iPod until mile 22 so that I could hear the whole experience including the bands playing music, other runners chatting, the sound of thousands of footsteps all at once and people cheering us on.

Luckily, the most visually dramatic mile is the first mile. I was still fresh enough to look around as we ran over the mile long I-74 bridge as it crosses the Mississippi river. The sun was just rising. The bridge looks like a green version of the Golden Gate Bridge and it swayed with the rhythm of our footsteps the entire way.

The big hill starts at about mile 2. A whopping 70 feet of elevation stretched out over a mile. This was one of the big draws for me--the race was essentially flat. Most of us ran the hill just fine but a few had to walk.

It was after the hill that I noticed one of the drawbacks of the race. The roads in the Quad Cities are not asphalt, they are concrete. It was just about this time that an old injury began to haunt me in my left foot. I aggravated a minor bruise in my left foot last week and thought it was healed but apparently the concrete brought it back. Within half a mile the pain was starting to make me wonder if I shouldn't just stop.

But how could I stop? I trained over six months. I took a week off work. I flew my wife to the middle of nowhere to run this race. On a warm up race you can quit. But this was my goal race and there would be no quitting.

My wife met me at the 4.5 mile mark just past a Gu station. She cheered me on as I handed her the wind breaker. She told me I looked great and had no idea I was in any pain.

The pace bunny was excellent. Not only did she keep an even pace (more or less...more about that later too) but she chatted the entire time. She told us stories about other races she had won, people who inspired her and close calls she had with her health.

At about the 10K mark I needed the bathroom which was cool since the nearest port o potty was within a mile. There were four of them lined up. Three of them were marked occupied but one was not. I knocked, didn't hear anything and opened the door...to find some lady sitting on the john! I quickly closed the door and was glad a different bathroom became available before the lady came out.

I quickly caught up with my pace bunny and marched on to mile 8 where my brother and sister in law would be waiting. I heard them cheering and gave them a quick thumbs up.

Eventually around mile 9 or 10 we saw a sign that said "All men dream of fishnets." It turned out that the next group of volunteers handing out Gu was the local ladies roller derby team who apparently wear fishnet stockings as part of their uniform. We all appreciated their enthusiasm...

In addition to the live bands there was a gospel singer. But the best musical entertainment were the two bagpipers.

We eventually made our way across the Centennial Bridge and on to Rock Island Arsenal for the grueling miles 13-19. I say grueling because the roads, which were not great to start out with, were in even worse condition. That is to say broken patches of concete and steeply bevelled. It was nice to see the military personnel in full uniform all along the course cheering us on. Our pacing group took the opportunity to thank them for their service.

Speaking of our pacing group, it was at this point that it started to thin out. At the beginning of the run there were about 10 or 12 of us. A few felt the pace was too slow and ran ahead but a few had failed to keep up. By the time we finished mile 18 there were only three of us left. Ahead we could see some of the group that had run ahead and now had slowed down.

By this time, the pain in my left foot had worsened and now my right foot was hurting too. I stopped. I contemplated walking for a while. I saw the pacing group continuing on without me. I almost accepted defeat--and stopping at that point would have been defeat--when I made two good decisions. First, I decided that it hurt to walk as much as it did to run so why not run? Secondly, I decided to use my iPod early. I know I had planned on using it at mile 22 but here at mile 19 I was in pain and needed the inspiration of the music and the guidance of the cadence. I switched on my iPod, focused on the cadence and started running again.

The cadence helped me quickly catch my pacing group. Then a curious thing happened. We could see the 20 mile mark in the distance about 600 meters away. Our pacer looked at her watch and realized that we were about 20 seconds off the pace. She started running faster to make up the time by mile 20. As she ran faster, I started to run faster. With about 200 meters to go she started sprinting so I started sprinting. Quickly it was just me and her as the rest of the group fell behind. When she crossed the timing mats at the 20 mile mark she slowed down...but I couldn't. I was like a caged tiger that had been released. Not only did I not stop, but I sped up.

Maybe it was the music, maybe I was getting impatient with the pain or maybe I was trying to escape the pace bunny's unending yacking. Whatever it was it was euphoric and I felt like a racer again. I flew by other runners. I was laughing, I was crying and I felt like screaming. But most of all I felt like running. Mile 21, 22 and 23 passed. At mile 23 I saw my wife again waiting for me. She cheered as I threw off my sunglasses, toque and fuel belt.

Then the euphoria burned off and the pain came crashing in. Every step on both feet was agony. And I'm not trying to be dramatic. I don't think I can describe it well enough but anyone who has run far enough and long enough knows what I'm talking about. And it wasn't "The Wall". I wasn't tired. I wanted to run. I only had 3 miles to go. I wasn't even sweating or breathing hard. But the pain overwhelmed me.

I walked but I was not defeated. Drawing on past race experiences I used another mental motivational tactic. I remembered why I was running. I thought of my Aunt Julianna, how she lived with rheumatoid arthritis for decades before it killed her. Every step she took felt like I was feeling, maybe even worse. If I ran now, I felt her pain. "You are not forgotten," I yelled at the sky and started running again. The pain was welcome now. I revelled in it. I wanted more. For those few minutes I connected with her and felt her run with me.

The pain overwhelmed me again with 2 miles to go. I stopped and walked and thought of my Uncle Mike. I have one memory of my Uncle Mike. It was my 9th birthday and my family was visiting my mom's relatives in South Dakota. I didn't get much of a birthday party as I can recall. I remember telling my Uncle Mike that it was my birthday. He reached into his pocket and gave me all the money he had and wished me a happy birthday. It was only 75 cents but I never forgot it. He died of a heroin overdose soon after that. "Run with me" I whispered and started running again.

My wife was waiting for my again about half way to the 26 mile marker. The pain was creeping in again. She must have recognized this as I approached. In a moment I will never forget she joined me. We jogged the 500 meters to the 26 mile marker. Finally, in the distance I could make out the finish line. I touched her hand and and told her I loved her and that I would wait for her there. I turned the music up loud and challenged the pain to stop me now. I heard someone yelling my name and recognized my brother Jesse who was waiting for me about 150 meters from the finish, I gave him a high five, picked up my knees and ran as hard as I could.

Marathon - 1 Day

2010-09-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

The marathon is tomorrow. So I spent the day laying in bed and obsessing about it....just kidding. Actually I learned alot about travelling and racing from my 10K in Edmonton and Provo. You gotta relax the day before and enjoy the moment! Tomorrow is going to happen no matter what, so why ruin today?

With that in mind I slept in until 10AM then had breakfast at McDonalds. Then I helped my brother study for his anatomy exam on Tuesday as we drove to Muscatine, Iowa for a riverboat lunch cruise. The lunch cruise was great.

Later on I picked up my race packet at the iWireless centre. Joking around with race volunteers is fun ("I am going to win this thing...as long as nobody comes in faster than 5 hours"). I also met Dane Rauschenberg who is famous for running a marathon every weekend for a full 52 weeks. He was hanging out at the Iowa Beef Farmers booth. I signed up to be on the team beef if they ever do one and got into a 'discussion' about whether we are farmers or ranchers. Cattlemen prefer to be called "ranchers"..."farmers" sounds so hick. Anyway, once he got done talking to some other fans I got a picture with him. I noticed he was signing a poster of him finishing the Ogden, Utah marathon and there was a quote on it "there may come a day when you cannot run. Today is not that day." So I said to him "that comes from Lord of the Rings." He looked a little annoyed and quickly said "Yeah my brother thinks I stole it from Tolkien but I wasn't thinking about that at all when I wrote the quote." Then when I took my picture with him I was like "Yeah this guy is cool because he writes a blog that people actually read." He thought that was pretty funny.

Anyway, turns out there is no shuttle from the hotel to the marathon tomorrow so I got to get up extra early to get there on time.

So its off to bed for a restless sleep then get up and go for a little jog.....

Quad Cities Marathon - 2 Days

2010-09-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

Its Friday. Quad Cities Marathon is on Sunday. Drove down to Seattle last night. We arrived at about 930 PM. Minor glitches at the hotel with our airport parking deal but after a short trip to Jack in the Box and a double cheeseburger later the hotel staff had it all sorted out. In bed by 11PM and awake at 530AM.

Our flight left Seattle at 830AM. We had the cutest kid sitting in front of us. He was about 10 months old and when he saw us he climbed over the chair and was smiling and laughing. I told his dad "you have the cutest kid ever!" His dad replied "let's see how cute you think he is once the flight is over." He wasn't kidding! That cute kid turned into screaming child for over an hour. It was strange because he would be laughing for about five minutes then start screaming again then be laughing again. Made for a long flight.

So our flight arrived at 230PM at Chicago O'Hare Airport. Our connecting flight to Moline started boarding at 235PM. It was fun to sprint from one terminal to the other while clutching my 20 pound computer bag like an idiot. And it also felt really good, just what I needed to be confident that even though I haven't run hard in a week, my legs know what to do when called upon. We sprinted and made our flight on time but apparently our bags didn't. But the nice folks at the American Airlines ticket desk were expecting us and assured us our bags would be on the next flight in...9PM.

So we were stuck with no clean clothes to shower and change into.

We spent the evening with my brother and sister in law at a "Light Up The Night" walk for the cure. It was alot of fun to sit and joke around with my family, listen to some live music and feel like a local.

Anyway, we picked up our bags at 9PM and now its time to get some hydration and sleep.

20 Miles at Last!

2010-08-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

After 6 months of training I have finally accomplished one of my goals this year: to run a 20 mile training run. After failing to complete the 18 mile run due to hot weather and struggling to finish the 19 miler last week, I was apprehensive about the 20 miler. I was also determined to accomplish it. And yes, it is fun to watch people's eye's pop out when you casually mention how far you ran.

That is, when you don't get the most common reaction which is no reaction at all. I find that most non-runners just don't understand. Long distances and personal bests are two things that I find it less than useful to report to people who don't run.

And to be fair, I used to laugh at amateur marathon runners. Plodders who had no hope of winning who were happy to waddle to the finish in 5 hours or so. "Anybody can just move their feet for 5 hours" I would say. Well guess what? I don't feel that way any more! Especially in the last 2 months my respect for ANYBODY who trains for and completes a marathon has grown immensely. This isn't easy and it takes alot more than just moving your feet.

I now understand that when you see people running 26.2 on race day, its really the final 26.2 miles after hundreds of training miles. The final running day after hundreds of running days. The tip of the training iceberg. For many, this will be the greatest day of their life! And yes it should rival marriages and graduations and births of children because it represents a long term daily commitment to overcome fatigue, pain, self doubt and injury. It requires a complete change in the way they view themselves long before they have any evidence to support this new self image. The photo at the finish was created in their minds long before it was snapped. It was created long before anyone else could see it.

Sometimes, most of the time, in life you have to be your own one person cheering section for a very long time before anyone else cheers for you.

I am not certain I broke my ankle in November, the xrays showed a small bone fragment consistent with a small fracture but not conclusive, no cast was necessary. But badly sprained or broken I still couldn't walk right for six weeks. There was a time last December when I was sure I would never run again. But I made a plan to try to run. It started with seeing a physiotherapist as soon as possible and following their instructions diligently. I began range of motion exercises and trying to walk with as much pressure through that ankle as possible. Then, after two months of no running at all, I went for my first jog. I limped for 5 minutes but it was a start. Through January and February I slowly built up to be able to limp 15 minutes on a treadmill and then icing the heck out of my ankle afterwards. I began to believe. I began to feel that I was still a runner, an injured runner, but I was an athlete.

By the end of February I had a plan to run 1 mile more every Saturday until I ran 20 miles. This of course would be supplemented by running 4 weekdays. I ran on the grass soccer fields at Seabird and the treadmills at the gym. At first the ankle hurt with each step but I soon learned that it wasn't being harmed. Soon the ankle hurt only occasionally, and then rarely. Now, I often forget which ankle was injured. So finally, yesterday, after months of preparation I completed 20 miles. I am no longer an injured athlete.

19 Mile Run

2010-08-22T08:38:00.000-07:00

Today was my 37th birthday. What better way to celebrate than waking up and running 19 miles?

I find that before each run I have the same apprehension...can I really do this? On paper it seems like such a long way. Then I recall the previous runs of 15, 16 and 17 miles. They seemed so far at the time but now I wish I was only going 17 miles. Somehow, it seems hard to believe that I even completed those runs because those seem like large numbers. This morning I fought the disbelief by telling myself it was going to be like a day at work...a few hours of putting one foot in front of the other and then you're home.

Its significantly cooler now. Last week it was 85 degrees or more when I started my 18 mile run. It was 95 degrees a couple of hours later at mile 11 when I decided I had better stop. Today it was around 75 degrees when I started and it felt cold. I was glad because I knew I would have the stamina I need.

On todays run I also realized that preloading with 16 ounces of water 2 hours before I run is counterproductive...just ask a couple of unfortunate trees on the trail!

After failing to complete last week's long run, I decided to return to the strategy that worked in the past. That is breaking the marathon down into segments of 10-10-10 (10 miles, 10 miles, 10k), running so slow at the beginning that I think I am going too slow and not listening to the iPod until at least the five mile mark. The return to those principles and strategies worked well. At the beginning I just concentrated on going slow and relaxing and before I was even aware of it I was at the 5 mile mark. I actually didn't turn on the iPod until the 6.5 mile mark when I noticed my mind wandering and my speed slipping and decided I needed the music to keep up my cadence. I felt quite fresh at the ten mile mark and looked forward to the next ten miles. Finally, I was very glad at the finish that I had started out slow because I really was tired at the end and can't imagine what would have happened if I started out too fast.

I was passed three times by the same car on the dike road. A guy and his young son kept passing me in the car. They were grinning the third time they passed me as if to say "I can't believe you are still our here!"

When I finished the run my legs felt like jello. It was all I could do to stumble to the park bench and lay down. I stared up at the sky for about ten minutes before gathering my strength and walking to my car. I headed to Dairy Queen for a green Arctic Blast before driving home.

I still can't believe I ran 19 miles.

Monday Morning Trail Run

2010-08-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

I love Monday morning! Well, basically there are two days that I love to run most--Monday morning and Friday morning. Monday morning is the mountain run. There is a 3 mile trail with about 700 feet of elevation outside my door (I live on a little mountain). On Monday morning I get up, run the trail and the best part is I get to go home and put some ice on my legs and go back to bed! For about 45 minutes then I got to get up and go to work but aside from Saturday its the only run where I get to go back to sleep.

I like Friday morning because they sell breakfast at work. If I work out early then I feel better about buying eggs, hashbrowns and extra bacon. I'd still buy it anyway but if I work out I feel better about it...

Nervous!

2010-08-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

I just registered for the Quad Cities Marathon on September 26 which is like 44 days or so away. More importantly I bought the tickets so I am for sure going! But I am NERVOUS as heck! I think it is half scared I can't do this nervous and half super excited that my 10 month recovery from ankle injury is almost officially over (its officially over when I run a marathon injury free).

So I figure I will be aiming for 5 hours which is 11:27 pace or so. I think this is pretty doable for 5 hours but we'll see. I hope there will be a pacer there I can just hook up with them and then use my cadences to keep up and 5 hours later go back to the hotel and chow down at the buffet.

Anyway, now I got to do my training and get ready to do this thing!

Almost there (but not quite yet...)

2010-08-08T21:50:00.000-07:00

The first big training goal is in sight now...a twenty mile run. Its still three weeks away but its now scheduled for this training cycle. Its been almost ten months since I almost broke my ankle at the Remembrance Day run. I wasn't even sure I'd run again ever but have proven to myself that I can. Now I need to fight the good fight and finish the training.

16 Miles

2010-07-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

Sweet 16! Supposedly only happens once but I had another chance today as I ran 16 miles for the first time ever in my life.

I was excited to get up and get going this morning as the weather called for clear and +30 degrees. I wanted to be heading home before the real heat started. Even though I slept on the floor last night I was up at 730AM with high hopes of getting out the door by 800AM but actually didn't make it out until 900AM. Which meant that it was plenty warm by the time I started.

I also tried out some new equipment today. I have finally given in and purchased a fuel belt with two bottle clips. I upgraded to the large bottles today. In addition to water, I also carry my cell phone and a small pouch with my car keys with me. So I have this bulky belt around my waist when I start. I also tried out my $4 Canada cap to keep the sun out of my eyes instead of my usual toque.

The long runs are supposed to be marathon simulations. The marathon race plan is to run the race in 3 sections: 10 miles - 10 miles - 10 km. The goal is to to get to twenty miles fresh enough to knock out a 55 minute 10km to finish the race. Anyway, with that in mind, my long runs are supposed to start out slow. No ipod until 5 miles which is where I get my first drink. The ipod cadences are deliberately slow. No sprinting or strides. Just a steady pace so that I'm fresh at the end of the run. Drink water at 5 miles, 8 miles, 10 miles and 13 miles.

The trail is naturally divided into three sections: the well groomed riverfront (about 3 miles), the forest trail (2.5 miles) which has small rolling knolls and bridges, and the dyke road (5 miles) which is gravel with no shade. Each section has its own character. The dyke road most resembles what I think Bataan will look like so I prefer to run here.

Anyway, I finally had some company on the dyke road. Some guy passed me just as the forest trail was ending. He wasn't going that much faster so I was able to keep him in sight. I suppressed the urge to race and catch him, instead using this rare opportunity to train for the marathon. I expect lots of people to pass me in the first ten miles of the marathon, the trick is seeing how many I can pass back before the finish. If he is truly supposed to be ahead of me at the end he will be, otherwise I'll eventually catch him. And that's exactly what happened. About one mile into the five mile dyke road section he stopped. I was only about 2 minutes behind him. He stood with his hands on his knees sucking wind while I just ran on by. If I had wanted to race him back to the start it would have been over very quickly, but I still had four miles to go before I was turning around. Still...it was nice to have company for a short time on that section of road. It is usually a fairly solitary undertaking.

The rest of the run was fairly uneventful. I did start feeling a little sluggish around mile 14. A few thoughts of walking crept into my mind but I recognized what was happening. I told myself that "this is when you gotta grind" and tried to pick up my pace. It took a half a mile or so but eventually I got my wind back and even tried a push at the end. When I was done, I propped my legs up on a park bench and laid on the ground staring up at the sky.

The Long Runs

2010-07-23T16:57:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I finally ran what I consider to be a long run...15 miles. I had previously thought that 10 miles was a long run, but that was when I was training for 10K races. Now I am working up to 20 miles every Saturday to get ready for the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon.

I've learned a few things so far. One main thing is that 26.2 miles is a long way! My legs felt like jello at the end of the 15 miles and I was proud I did it but I had to step back and realize that if this was the marathon I'd still have 11.2 miles to go!

I've learned to appreciate the beauty of my little mountain town. The Rotary Trail in Chilliwack offers beautiful views of the Vedder river, the mountains, great blue herons flying in formation and bald eagles. Yes, there is the occasional snake crossing the road too.

Its a nice milestone but the real milestone will be my first twenty miler which is six weeks away.

Recovery

2010-04-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while. Mainly because of my injury. After a frustrating 6 weeks off during which time I never thought I would run again, and another 3 months running low mileage, I can finally say my foot feels great and I am ready to train hard again.

Remembrance Day

2009-11-15T20:46:00.000-08:00

I found myself with a rare mid week day off due to Remembrance Day falling on a Wednesday. I looked around for something to do and found a race in Vancouver. The race info said the race was taking place at Brockton Oval, which is a track. So I thought it would be fun to run 8k on a track.

Except the race started at Brockton Oval and was actually a trail run. Although I train on a hills course I wasn't prepared for an actual trail run. Against my better judgement I decided to run the race anyway.

Halfway through the race I was on pace for a 34 minute 8K but I lost focus as I was thinking about my awesome pace and tripped on a rock as I was running downhill. I sprained my ankle pretty bad.

I sat there for a few minutes in pain and disappointment. One of the many runners who passed me asked if I had tripped on a rock. When I told him I had he responded with a sympathetic "Son of a b*%#@, eh?!" Honestly, that made me feel alot better.

Eventually I was able to put some weight on the ankle and even started a halting jog. It hurt but I was determined to finish the remaining 4K to honor my grandfathers who served in WWII. But I was soon discovered by a race marshall who advised me to stop running while she radioed for the medical car. Discretion being the better part of valor I decided that I had given it a good effort but needed to not dammage the ankle any more. The ride back to the start was so embarrassing. So with my head hung in shame I achieved my first DNF.

The xray the next day showed a small avulsion fracture so I'll be on a crutch for the next two weeks and then re xray it and go from there. Hopefully the next x ray will be fine and I can start working back to my base mileage.

Adjust or Run in the Dark!

2009-11-08T21:47:00.000-08:00

Daylight savings is wreaking havoc with my running schedule. That, and alot of early morning staff meetings at work means that I have to do more training at night than I am used to.

Today I was running 4oom intervals after sunset at Oak Bay Track. It was dark enough that I didn't see the other runner who started doing laps with me. When I passed her, she looked something like this...so I think I need to get to bed earlier so I can run in daylight...

Joy in Running

2009-11-06T19:40:00.000-08:00

For some reason I forgot that I parked my car at my wife's Grandma's house yesterday. I took a cab home from the airport instead. I didn't even realize it until my wife got home last night and asked "Where is your car?" So my punishment was to run all the way to Grandma's house this morning to get the car. Its 8 miles.

It wouldn't have been so bad except it was raining sideways this morning. But sometimes you got to run in the rain. Except the rain stopped about five minutes into the run. The sun came out as I was running on the lakeshore. Sometimes you just gotta feel the joy of running.

Competition

2009-11-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was another grind at Cedar Hill Chip Trail. I ran five laps. 10.88 miles. 1160 feet of elevation. I started at sunset and finished in the dark. I saw another fast runner doing laps in the other direction on my 2-4th lap. Having a rival always brings out my best. I never wanted him to see me slowing down. And I wanted to outlast him. I didn't see him on my fifth lap.

Gettin' Sweaty in the Parking Lot

2009-11-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

University of Victoria's track was closed to the public yesterday. So instead of cancelling my speed training, I decided to run laps in the adjacent parking lot. The outside loops looked to be about 400 meters and there wasn't alot of traffic so...why not? As it turns out, the loop was 0.22 miles (a 400 metre track is 0.25 miles) so it was fairly accurate.

It was a little cold so I wore a warm up jacket and hoodie to the track. When I saw that the track was closed, I took off my jacket and hoodie and placed it on the grass and started doing laps. My friend Steve was with me and kept me company.

It was alot of fun. A couple of college kids were rollerblading in the parking lot too. Only a couple of cars entered the lot and I was never in danger of getting hit by a car. I did have to chase a guy away who was rifling through my jacket. I was finishing my last rest lap before my final 400m lap. I saw him wandering around and then he actually grabbed my jacket to check it out. I started yelling at him "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" before he finally noticed me. "Thats my stuff." He dropped it pretty quick and made some lame excuse about how he was just taking it to turn into lost and found. He eventually drove off in a beater van.

That little exchange must have given me some sort of energy boost because I ran my final lap in 59 seconds!

Be Patient

2009-10-28T23:06:00.000-07:00

I woke up feeling fresh and ready for the six minute challenge. The mile is a drama in four acts. Todays playlist was "If God Could Send His Angels" for the first 4 minutes and finishing with "What Shall We Die For." The first quarter mile went by very quickly and comfortably as did the second quarter. The third quarter is about hanging in there and unfortunately today I only made it to .62 mile when I had to take a 30 second pause before I finished off the run. After the break I felt more mental resolve, which is encouraging because I can work on the mental part of the run as long as I am physically prepared.

I have to be patient. I remember when I could only walk 3.0 mph for seven minutes. And I was in pain for the last minute! I just kept plugging away and believing that my body was changing and adapting to the challenge. The first time I actually ran for a full twenty minutes (at a challenging 5.0 mph!) was an amazing accomplishment and I know I will run 10 mph for forty minutes some day. I just have to be patient and keep trying.

I'll Miss This Run

2009-10-27T22:41:00.000-07:00

Todays workout called for 4 laps of Cedar Hill Chip Trail. Lots of dogs but they are mostly on leashes. It was raining and windy the first two laps but I emerged from the trees to brilliant sunlight on the third lap. This trail is the perfect place to get your brain and legs stronger. I hope I find a replacement. As much as it is a grinding 8.66 miles, I will miss this run.

Rainy Day at the Track

2009-10-25T21:58:00.001-07:00

I love training in the rain. Today was a track speed workout and it was raining and cold. Perfect. Because while everybody else is at home in bed hoping the sun comes out, I'm outside training. Plus, nobody wants to walk their dog in this weather, which is fine with me. Actually, about halfway through my run some dude with a dog showed up at the track and waddled off a lap and then ran away...

The plan calls for me to start pushing some paces now. Especially on track day because the distances are smaller I need to be pushing the pace while keeping my form and cadence. Todays workout felt great, first four laps in 102, 100, 100 and 95 seconds. Next three laps in 98, 93, 95 seconds. Next two laps 92 seconds each. Final lap in 78 seconds, which is three seconds off my goal.

I seem to be running more comfortably but as fast at the 184 bpm cadence (Civilization 4) as I am at the 208 cadence (Bad). Likely this just means that I am not fit enough to maintain my stride length at 208 bpm. I'll have to keep an eye on this when it comes to choosing my race day playlist.

All in all a fun day. Looking forward (kind of) to a tough workout tomorrow.

Learn to Suffer

2009-10-21T22:43:00.000-07:00

Paul Tergat said "the great runners aren't scared of pain, the good ones are."

I Think I Need A Week Off...

2009-10-10T23:47:00.001-07:00

Todays 9 mile run marked the end of another three week cycle. I completed 14/15 planned workouts. My legs are tired and my new shoes have given both feet fierce blisters. Can't say how glad I am for planned rest weeks...

A New Run Every Time

2009-10-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my treadmill 6.2 mile run at 2.0 incline run at 8:00 mile pace. I use this run to simulate the mental challenge of running the 10K race. Physically it is an endurance run where I focus on form.

The run teaches me about my mental stages in a race. The first stage is pre-run. The alarm goes off at 6AM. My body wants to sleep. My brain starts rolling over all the usual excuses..."I had a stressful day yesterday", "I'm dehydrated", "My body needs to rest today". Finally I have to remember why I run and hence why I need to get up. Next stage is mile 1. The run starts and I can feel my heart rate increase and my breathing becomes harder. Mentally I start rolling through all the reasons that today I just need to run 1 mile or 3.1 miles instead of the full 6.2. By mile 2, my mind has accepted that I am running. But the excuses start up again as I near 3.1 miles (5K). "I really just want to be a 5K racer." Or, "Its okay to cut back just this once..." But I focus on whatever song I am running to and make sure that I stay on cadence and on good form until I am past the 3.1 mile mark.

After the 3.1 mile mark, I magically begin to feel more resolved. I begin to visualize the race. My favorite vision is me finishing the Edmonton Marathon. I am either the winner or setting a new Canadian record. My run is the final 10K of the race. I am racing against the greats...Gebrselassie, Wanjiru, Ryan Hall and Bekele. Every two miles I drop one of them behind until finally it is just me and (usually) Wanjiru in a sprint to the finish. I imagine the crowd's interest increasing as word spreads that a Canadian is in the lead pack. I see the lead car with the time posted driving down the street and the crowd gets anxious to see if I am still behind it. They cheer when they see that not only am I still in the lead, but I am running strong. The crowds are growing as I run down Whyte Ave and the River Valley. They hold their breath to see who leads the race at the top of Victoria Park Road. Excited children start to run with me in the final push to Commonwealth Stadium. Finally I run into the dark tunnel that leads into the stadium and the final 400m finishing lap. The crowd chants "Ca-Na-Da" when they see me emerge onto the track in the lead as thousands of cameras flash. My wife waits at the finish.

And then the race--and the morning run--are over. The doubts and excuses are gone, replaced by joy, confidence and anticipation of the next chance to race.

New Shoes

2009-10-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

Todays workout called for 4 laps of Cedar Hill Park chip trail. According to the Garmin, it was 1100 total feet of elevation gain over 8.68 miles. A tough run but I managed to make the last lap my fastest. Just as I was starting the first lap another runner passed me on the way up. He wasn't going much faster than me and I was tempted to pass him back but I decided to stick to the plan. It is good training for race situations because there will always be somebody faster and I got to learn to run my plan and not just react to other runners.

Anyhow, during the run I noticed that my shins were hurting more than usual. This is usually a sign that my shoes have worn out. I have had these pairs for 4 months and put alot of miles on them so I'm not surprised. So right after the run I hauled my sweaty self into Running Room for new shoes.

I usually run in Nike Air Pegasus. I like them because they fit my narrow foot and have enough midsole padding. They are also on the lighter side which is nice. So I picked up another pair. I also picked up a pair of Asics GT 2140 Trail shoes. Winter is coming which means alot of running in mud uphill and downhill so I hope these will provide a bit more grip.

Sitting at the bottom of the shoe shelf was a pair of track shoes on sale for $30. I have never run in spikes before but I am planning alot more track work. So I went ahead and bought them too. New Balance MDS 330. You even have to screw in the spikes yourself. Can't wait to try them out.

When it was all over, I found myself charging $350 on shoes. What have I become?

Track Workout

2009-10-04T22:58:00.001-07:00

Sundays are really my favorite day because the workout is short and different. Today was sunny with a little wind. There was a group of dog walkers at the track which always bothers me. Honestly, miles and miles of city sidewalks and parks and you have to walk your mutt on the track.

I call todays workout cutdowns because each successive interval gets shorter in distance and faster in pace. Interval 1 is 105 second 1/4 miles X 4 (7 minute mile). Interval 2 is 97 seconds 1/4 miles X 3 (6:30 mile pace for 3/4 mile). Interval 3 is 90 seconds 1/4 miles X 2 (6:00 mile pace) and the final 1/4 mile is 75 seconds (5:00 mile pace.) 1/2 mile rest between intervals. Pretty easy workout but fun to try to hit that 75 at the end. In case you are wondering, the world record for the 400m is 43 seconds and change.

All the intervals felt very comfortable today. I ran faster than my paces for intervals 1-3 but ran the last 400m lap in 80 seconds which is an official Garmin GPS personal best (my best unofficial time is 68 seconds...).

Tomorrow it is back to the grind. "The Grind" is a good nickname for the run because it is 4 laps of Cedar Hill Park Chip Trail.I think its about 8.8 miles of hill training. Basically mountain running up hill then downhill steep. Lots of fun once its over.

Lochside Repeats

2009-10-03T22:41:00.000-07:00

I don't know why but I always get anxious before my big runs.

The plan today called for 5 X 1.5 mile repeats at 8:00 minute pace (12 minutes per lap). I learned from the Times Colonist that one of my problems is starting out too slow so I set the playlist for a slightly faster cadence ("When You Are A Soldier"). So as I started out on the first lap I noticed that I was running fast but not feeling much effort. This continued until the end when I noticed I was going to finish in about 10:30 so I purposely slowed down and still finished at about 11:10. Two minute rest and back at it. Every lap felt great, not pushing. There was a slight wind on the return laps which magnified the effort but didn't affect my time.

All in all a good work out.

Tomorrow is cutdowns at the track. I am hoping to hit 75 second quarter mile on the last lap.

Still Running!

2009-10-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

Wow I can't believe I haven't updated this since July!

Looking back the race in Utah was awesome. But I told my wife that there would be no more travelling to races until I break 40 minutes locally. Seriously, that trip to Utah cost me around $5000 in lost income and travel costs and all for a 48 minute finish.

Anyhow, I am training now for the 2010 Times Colonist. I feel I have unfinished business with the race.

Happily I have found a training regimen that works for me and my current travel and work schedule. Sunday is track intervals. Monday is hill training mostly at Cedar Hill Park. Wednesday is speed training on the treadmill. Thursday is easy distance run on the treadmill and Saturday is 1.5 mile repeats at Lochside. Tuesday and Friday are rest days. The treadmill runs are done at a minimum incline of 2.0. Every fourth week is a rest week with reduced distances but a run on each work out day.

I have seen good results so far. I even clocked a 68 second quarter mile at the track a couple of weeks ago but lately have been settling for 81 seconds.

This week was rough 'cause I'm at a conference in Nanaimo and have to run earlier than usual. This morning's treadmill 6.2 was mentally tough. I was tempted to stop at 3.1 miles but am happy I pushed through it.

The Sweetest 6 Seconds

2009-07-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

My chip time for the Provo Freedom Run 10K was 47:54.

After training and obsessing about this race for the past 10 months it was nice to get the race over with. I was confident that I had run every training run I was supposed to, including 10 milers and sprint intervals.

The night before the race I could not sleep at all. I didn't even doze. I laid awake in my hotel all night tortured by waking "what if" dreams. What if my playlist was too slow, maybe it was too fast, maybe I should insert "Roll Tide" into the playlist. What if people roughed me up or tripped me because I was wearing a Canada shirt? What if I didn't drink enough water last night, what if I drank too much and needed a break during the race? What if I started out too fast, what if I started too slow and got boxed in? What if we couldn't find parking and I had to jog 2-3 miles to the start? What if I got up too early, what if I got up too late? A thunderstorm rolled through at about 4AM with some rain. What if the roads were wet and I slipped on the downhill...?

As the restlessness wore on my head began to spin and I got a low grade headache.

The hotel wake up call at 530AM was most welcome. The "what if's" stopped and I decided to get out of bed. I was so tired.

The roads were dry and the sky was now clear. We found parking easily. Nobody even noticed my Canada shirt, let alone objected to it. I went for a warm up jog and felt surprisingly fast and awake. But my mouth was very dry.

I lined up in the area marked "7 minute mile pace". A thin black man, dubbed "The Kenyan", finished his warm up and lined up at the front of the pack. As I expected, slow runners began lining up in my area. Usually I politely tolerate this, but today I pushed closer to the front ahead of them. I didn't have time to weave past them at the beginning. The thin unshaven unshowered man next to me had a jersey on with a little "New Zealand" in the upper left chest. "Looks like I'm not the only non American in the race...", I joked. He chuckled nervously. He managed to share that he was from New Zealand but living in Nevada and was in town to visit relatives but really was here to run a race. He was worried about starting out too fast...

The race began after a ten minute delay. I pushed my way to the starting line. No more Mr. Nice Guy and getting passed by everybody at the beginning. This was a new philosophy: start like Seabiscuit. I was going to push the first mile, hoping to finish that mile in 7 minutes, then push the downhill section which was almost another mile, and finally settle into a 7:30 pace for the rest of the race. The point was to get ahead of the crowd so as to not waste energy trying to maneuver through them or being boxed in.

The first mile was uphill. The mouth dryness was bothering me. I didn't think it was dehydration as it had started before the race, but it wasn't helping at all. Still, I pushed on and managed to finish the first mile in 7 minutes. Now on to the downhill section I had been practicing for months. Most recreational runners are uncomfortable on downhills, but I am confident and comfortable with them. And I didn't slip. I finished mile 2 at 14:15.

Now the race flattened out until mile 6. My mouth finally moistened up at about the three mile mark. That first 3 miles was finished at 21:22. At the time I realized vaguely that it was a personal best time. Unfortunately, the lack of sleep prevented me from realizing that A. It was a 43 minute 10K pace, much faster than my predicted finish and hence likely too fast and B. It was a 7:07 mile pace, again too fast to expect to sustain. I think that even had my sleep deprived brain been able to accomplish the simple math, the ability to decide to slow down was not there. So I continued to race at that pace.

Mile 4 was finished at 29:12, a 7:15 mile pace. Mile 5 was finished at 37:34, a 7:31 mile pace. I glanced at my watch at the five mile mark and noticed I was there at 37 minutes. My goal was 45 minutes. I thought I was on track to make my time, but again, my sleep deprived brain could not do the math. I needed to finish that final 1.2 miles in 7 minutes 26 seconds in order to make my goal. That is a 6:12 per mile pace. And the final mile was uphill.

It was a moot point anyway. The wheels fell off after 5 miles. In running terms, I bonked. I couldn't even hear my playlist cadences, let alone move my feet that fast. I reverted to my natural resting pace. My head started telling me to stop or walk. But then I saw my mom and niece and nephew waving and cheering for me. And somewhere ahead near the finish my wife waited. "No," I thought, "I may not be running my fastest, but there is no way I am going to let my family watch me walk to the finish." I also realized that to them it appeared that I was running hard. So I stood up straight and started swinging my arms and pushing as hard as I could.

By the time I could see the finish line, the race clock read 47:40 with 40 yards left to run. I could not accept that I had come ten months and hundreds of training miles only to run 48 minutes or longer. This race had to be a personal best, if only by a few seconds. Other runners were sprinting past me to the finish, inspiring me to push on. I could see the seconds ticking down as I got closer...45, 46, 47...my legs and lungs burned...50, 51, 52...waves of nausea passed over me as I fought off the dry heaves...53...Once last glance at the clock before I crossed the line showed 47 minutes.

My head was spinning. I could barely stand, let alone keep moving as one of the race volunteers shouted at me to get out of the finish area. Somehow I walked to the chip removal area where a young lady snipped the timing chip off my shoe. The dry heaves began again. I wandered to a picnic pavilion and laid down on the concrete floot. The world was spinning.

47:54. I had beat my personal best by 6 seconds. On no sleep. At 4600 feet of elevation. Uphill for the first and last mile.

10 Mile Training Run

2009-06-07T20:10:00.000-07:00

I can tell that the hills are making me stronger. My weekend ten milers include a downhill for the first 1.5 miles, two large hills in a row for mile 4, steep uphill a mountain for mile 5.5-6.5, steep downhill for mile 6.5 to 7 and mile 9-10 are uphill. No more flat 10 miles for me.

I like the down hill portions. They are perfect because the most important parts of the Freedom Run are downhill: the start and the finish. I am working on making the initial downhill mile my fastest. That is, I run as hard as I can in that first mile to keep the crowd behind me and then settle into my race pace. I am practicing running that first mile hard without being winded on my subsequent miles. I can see improvement in that area.

Also, I am working on running hard on the final uphill miles -- at race pace if possible. Because if you're not tired at mile 9 then you won't be tired at mile 6.

I feel strong. I feel confident. I am still excited to run the race in Provo.

D-Day

2009-06-06T21:52:00.000-07:00

Not many people remember, but today is the anniversary of D-day. I had no relatives who stormed the beach in Normandy, but I had two great uncles who fought in the Pacific. One was wounded in Bataan and the other was wounded at Guadacanal. I thought about them today on my ten mile run.

Mile 5 of the run is up a mountain about 400 feet. I pretended they were hills at Juno Beach and kept telling myself to "get up those hills."

I also saw two fawns that were just barely bigger than a chihuahua. I stopped to watch them for a few seconds before they scampered into the bushes.

Physically I felt fine once I started running, but it was a struggle to get out of bed and get moving. Feet, knees, legs and everything else felt really good. I ran the ten miles in 1 hour 21 minutes, which is one of my better runs.

Countdown to Provo

2009-06-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

July 4th is coming soon. About 4 more weeks to train. My training schedule is now simple: 30 mile weekends and two speed sessions. I will run 10 miles on Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning. Tuesday and Friday are rest days. Wednesday will be 1/2 mile intervals with a 2 minute rest on a treadmill at 9.0 mph. Thursday is an 8 mile run on a treadmill. The first two miles at 7.0 mph, the next two miles at 7.5 the next two at 8.0 and the final two miles at 8.5 mph. All sessions are followed by ninety minutes of stretching, IT band massage and ice.

I can't say I'm nervous about the race, but I am thinking about it all the time. Running the course last year was a great idea because now I can visualize the race and how I want to run. I imagine myself charging out of the start and running hard for the first mile to avoid getting boxed in like at the Times Colonist. I am running hills now and imagining that they are the big hill at the finish of the race. I am at peace with the race and confident that if I complete my training schedule then I will physically be ready to do well. I have also come to peace with my own limits and no longer feel burdened by having to win the race. If I get 45 minutes in Provo I will feel great.

Physically I feel great. I have no injuries at this point. I just bought new shoes and they should be broken in but still fresh by July. I am sleeping well and have no symptoms of overtraining at this point.

I can't wait to start my 10 milers this weekend.

Times Colonist Part II: Be Like Seabiscuit!

2009-05-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

I have admit that I was very disappointed in my race at the TC 10K. I honestly was expecting 40-45 minutes. But I have reconstructed a time line of mistakes and what I learned from them so that I am better for my goal race, the Provo Freedom Run 10K on July 4.

6 days before the race: I decide that my taper will consist of one hard ten miler the Monday before the race and then no running at all for five days. The thinking was that my legs will be fully rested for the run.

3 days before the race: I decide that my race plan will be to run the first 5K slow and the second 5K fast. The rationale is that by purposely running slower I don't risk burning out in the first 1/2 of the race, and I had some fast 5K training runs in the three weeks leading up to the race. If I could save some energy for the final 5K I could rip off another fast 5K.

The night before the race: I decide that my cadences will be 184 bpm for the first 5K and then jump to 196bpm and 224bpm for the final 5K.

The day of the race: I wake up at 6:00 AM for an 830 AM start. There was no rationale, I just couldn't sleep any more...

So here we are at the race. Actually 13000 people is alot more than I thought. I was warming up by running around the block but had to stop when the crowds of runners got too thick to run in. So I decided to walk up to the race start and eventually found a quiet corner where a couple of elite women runners were warming up. You could tell they were elite because they had impressive warm up stretches, cool sunglasses and shiny singlets. That and their race number said "elite".

So with about fifteen minutes to the race start I decided to get to my official starting area before it got too crowded. My race number was green because my estimated finish time was 45 minutes. So I was proud to line up in the green area near the front...until I look around and see just about every color lined up in my area. The nerve! I worked all winter for that race start position and these posers were crowding my space. I should have taken that for a clue.

Mayor Fortin was speaking before the race. Telling lame jokes etc and at one point even welcomed everybody to the tenth annual Times Colonist 10K race...except all the marketing posters, flags, t shirts etc said 20th Annual Times Colonist 10K. I don't think anyone else was listening to him though...

So we counted down the start and off we went. So here is where my decisions started to play a role. My five day taper had made my legs a little stiff. Combine that with a decision to start slow and me forgetting to start my stop watch meant that instead of running the first kilometer in 4:30, I ran it in 6:00! Except I didn't know that when I got to the 1K marker, because I hadn't started my stop watch...I guesstimated that I had run it in 5:00.

Also, I underestimated the size of the crowd. Its one thing to let 400 people run past you at the beginning and then to fight your way past the crowd later like I did at last years Victoria Marathon 8K. But it is quite another problem to let thousands bolt past you at the start and then try to fight your way through them later on. It was a disaster. The course quickly narrowed and I spent kilometer 2-5 boxed in at a 5-6 minute kilometer pace.

I hit the second half of the race discouraged by my time and worn out. I wasn't worn out from the pace, I was worn out by the mental effort of running through crowds. Then my fast cadences started. The problem was that although I had run to each individual song before in training, I had never run to each song in a row for a full sustained 5 kilometers. It became readily apparent that I could not maintain the pace. Unfortunately, I had not put any backup medium tempo cadences in the playlist, so I had to revert back to my slow tempo cadence the rest of the way. I pushed as hard as I could, but could never get into a rhythm. I was happy to cross the line at 48, because it sure felt alot harder than that.

Afterwards I got some advice from my brother Aaron. He races triathlons. First of all, it was nice to have another athlete to discuss the race with. Non competitive runners just don't understand what its like to train for months and then come up with a disappointing effort when it matters. Anyhow, he pointed out that the problem was traffic management and race tactics. Without going into details the new strategy is to attack the first kilometer and then run the race, attacking when the course allows and settling when it doesn't.

Its not my style to run hard at first. I need a couple of kilometers to get loosened up then I take off. But that is what cost me the race. A friend at church pointed out that Seabiscuit was the same way. Remember Seabiscuit? In order for him to race War Admiral, they had to retrain him to run hard right at he beginning. So I have to be like Seabiscuit. I have to train to run hard at the start without dying at the finish.

Times Colonist Part 1

2009-04-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

Today I ran my first big race of the year, the Times Colonist 10K. It is a good gauge of how I am doing after my winter training. My unofficial time (i.e. my own stopwatch) was 47:10. It was a fairly comfortable run that started out with me getting passed by just about everybody, as usual. The race had almost 13000 entrants so I spent alot of time getting boxed in and trying to politely run through crowds.

I'll post more when I get my official time tomorrow.

Speed Training and Sharpening

2009-04-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

I have finally entered the speedwork phase of my training. The mileage is cut down a little bit but the tempo and cadences are definitely faster. The main training days are Wednesday (880 meter or half mile repeats) and Thursday (1-3 miles at six minute mile pace.) These training sessions are done on a treadmill. I am up to 6 half mile repeats at 9.5 mph (6:18 minutes/mile) and eventually will work up to 12 half mile repeats at that pace over the next 6-8 weeks. I can finish one mile at 10 mph and will keep working until I can run that pace for 3 miles straight.

My weekend running (Friday - Monday) consists of 6-14 mile runs with sections run at my goal pace or faster. I also practice my race plan. My race plan is to run the first 4.5km at 4:30 km pace/cadence. The second half of the race will be run at 3:30km pace/cadences.

Its amazing to think that a year ago I was injuring myself trying to run 5 minute kilometers. Now that is a warmup pace.

Run With Patience

2009-03-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my endurance base training peaked at 10 miles a day for three days. It is hard to believe that a year ago my long runs were 2 kilometers. While 10 miles was not easy, I enjoyed the challenge.

In particular I was inspired by the following message from Paul found in Hebrews Chapter 12:

"Wherefore, seeing we also are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For consider him that endured such contradictions of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds...

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."

When I run, I know that my ancestors watch. In particular my Aunt Julianna who died of Rheumatoid Arthritis last year. She was quite athletic until the disease struck her when she was young. She runs with me. My uncle Mike died of a drug overdose in his early twenties. He runs with me. They and others are my great cloud of witnesses.

One of the benefits of living in Victoria is that many Olympians live and train here. It is inspiring to know that triathlete Simon Whitfield, who won Gold in Sydney and Silver in Beijing, will be lining up just ahead of me at both the Times Colonist 10K and the Royal Victoria 8K. Part of the fun of racing here is that you catch glimpses of these amazing athletes running the same race or training on the same trail that you are. With a little more training, I think, I might be able to keep up with them for just one mile.

Life has set before me various races. Some miles are more grievious than others. Yet I run inspired by Christ. He authored the course, trained on the same trails and finished the race. And from time to time, usually when I'm running harder than I think I ought, I catch glimpses of Him running the same mile.

Crowded Treadmills

2009-03-06T23:46:00.000-08:00

Apparently physicians like to run marathons. At least, thats the impression I got today at the conference. No less than 3 different presenters "happened" to mention they were marathon runners. One found a way to brag that he was running "Boston" this year, another joked that his best and worst marathon times were in the Vancouver Marathon and the third guy just mentioned running the Vancouver Sun Run. Well you know what they say...the next best thing to running is talking about running...

After the conference ended I had an afternoon to kill so I went to the cardio room here in the hotel. Its a pretty scrub exercise room with only two treadmills. The treadmills had a 30 minute limit. I have to say I hate it when they limit the time on the treadmills but I also understand. Its distracting to run a 10 mile tempo run while looking over your shoulder to see if you're about to get kicked off the machine. Anyhow, I jumped on and ran 3.5 miles in the 30 minutes which is basically an easy run for me as I am recovering from a cold. But right after I started a whole bunch of old skinny guys showed up in the fitness center. They all looked disappointed that the treadmills were taken and so they jumped on the crosstrainer or the stationary bike. I didn't let it bother me as I only planned on a short run anyway. The run felt great and I was even able to run 1/4 mile at 9.4 mph followed immediately by a quarter mile at 10.5 mph, which I could do because I was only running 3.5 miles total.

It will be nice to finish my easy week tomorrow morning with a 5 mile run if I can squeeze it in without getting kicked off the treadmill...

New Year and New Goals!

2009-03-05T23:15:00.000-08:00

I know its been a while since I posted. For some reason, I think I always have to post with a picture.

Its the beginning of March and I have a whole new year of racing. I plan to run the Victoria Times Colonist in April. The Provo Freedom Run in July and the Edmonton 10K in August. I will volunteer for the Victoria Marathon Weekend to get a look at the organization of a run.

My winter base training is finally winding down. I am trying to hit 50 miles per week but life keeps getting in the way. I average 40 miles per week with a rest week after every 2-4 weeks of training. The winter base running is 3 long runs of 10 miles each in which I focus on my running form at an aerobic pace. Right now my aerobic pace is 5:00-4:30 per kilometer. I run sprint intervals on a treadmill once per week. The sprints are 4:00-3:30 per kilometer for either 4 X 1/4 mile or 4 X 1/2 mile (I alternate each week). The purpose of the sprints is to increase my VO2 max, condition me to run while uncomfortable and give me the confidence that I can run fast. I run one 8-10 mile tempo run on the treadmill each week as well. This usually involves a 2-4 mile warmup and then running 4-6 miles at 7.5-8.5 mph. This is actually an aerobic run for me in which I focus on running hard even at the slower cadences (176-190 bpm). It is really tempting at the end of those runs to just go hard for a mile or two but discpline is a key to improvement.

I'm in Vancouver tonight, staying at the Fairmont hotel for a conference on chronic pain management this weekend. I'm just getting over a cold so lucky for me its a rest week. I'm feeling way better and looking forward to an easy 4 mile run on the hotel treadmill tomorrow morning. Later...

A New Beginning

2008-11-21T14:09:00.000-08:00

I felt a little bit let down after running the Victoria 8K. After planning and training for half year for 40 minutes of glory, life has been a little empty. But I now have another challenge and life is good again. My new goal race is the Provo Freedom Run 10K.

The 10K race takes place on the 4th of July during Provo's Freedom Festival. I haven't been to an American 4th of July celebration in a long time and look forward to spending it with my family. The race starts at 7AM. Last year's winning time was 32:41. I am looking for 35 minutes, and hopefully top 20.

It won't be easy because Provo's elevation is 4500 feet, while I train in Victoria with a whopping 30 foot elevation.

I did get a chance to run the course with my brother last month. He has been a real inspiration to me so it was an extra special run. Besides discussing various weird running styles (Jar Jar Binks, crabwalking) the best part was running down this old lady. We were finishing the last kilometer at a leisurely pace when this short skinny lady passed us. I told Aaron that I usually don't let that happen to me, but since this was a training/social run, I would let it go. Anyway, she got about a hundred yards ahead of us when we decided to stretch our legs a little at the finish. I caught her quickly and savoured the sweet scent of her despair as I dusted her. Yes lady, you really are that slow. Priceless.

Anyhow, the plan is to get my winter aerobic base up to 80km (50 miles) per week by January. Then I'll start sprint and VO2 Max training as well as hill training with my bike. Let the pain begin!

39:41

2008-10-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

Last week was the big race, the Victoria Marathon Weekend 8K road race. It was this years goal race, which means it was the race I was training for all year.

The Royal Victoria Marathon includes a Marathon, half Marathon, and the 8K Road Race. All of which occur on the same day and start within 45 minutes of each other. Last year the downtown was so crowded that some Marathon runners had to park 2 miles away from the start (and finish). The idea of walking that far back to my car possibly in the wind and rain didn't appeal to me so I got a hotel room across the street from the race.

The race started at 730 AM. Apparently that is standard with races, but starting in near dark and the cold is going to take some getting used to. Luckily there was no wind and no rain. The temperature wasn't even that bad.

It was hard to see the start line as there were only some flags on light posts and not a proper starting gate like in Edmonton. I just had to assume I was in the right crowd.

The plan for this race was run the first half at 152 bpm and the second half at 168 bpm. I had set my iTunes playlist to music with a clear beat at the cadence I needed. For example, "Autobots" was perfect for the first half and "Bittersweet Symphony" for the second half. If I was right and if I could sustain the cadences, I should finish in less that 40 minutes.

People run fast at the start of every race. I just have to get used to it. So when the gun sounded and we got going I didn't worry that everybody ran past me. My 1K split time was 5:09. I failed to believe that EVERYBODY can sustain a 5:09 split time for the entire race so I just kept to my plan. Slowly the crowd stopped running past me. For half a kilometer they even kept up. Then the inevitable, epitomized perfectly by the runner I passed who was vomiting on the side of the road less than 3km in to the race. As for me, I was just warming up.

3km into the race I was weaving my way past the crowd. Finally I had to abandon the road for the sidewalk, which wasn't a problem for me since I had trained on the sidewalk anyway. 4km came and I had no problem fast forwarding to "The Field of Pelennor", and picking up the pace.

There is something psychologically satisfying about passing other runners and knowing they have no chance of fending you off. I do feel respect for my fellow runners who are just as dedicated and trying their hardest. I mean, its not like I was winning the race either, not even close (I finished 339th for crying out loud...). But still, I imagine they felt the same satisfaction when they passed me way back at the 1/2 km mark. Except the 1/2 km mark feels like a million years ago as I pass them from behind. A few glance at me as I run past, trying to measure if they have a chance to not get beaten. They don't, so they don't even try to speed up or at least match my pace. Most, though, have tunnel vision, just trying to keep their legs moving without passing out or quitting.

I did get passed at the 7km mark. By a boy who couldn't have been more than 11 years old. I have to admit I was quite impressed. I matched his effort until the last 250 meters when I started my sprint and passed him back. Still though, I couldn't even walk 8km when I was that age....

The finish and final sprint were very satisfying. Just like I had practiced. Thanks to the pacing and the taper I had alot of energy left and passed several others at the finish.

I knew I was close to my goal. I knew that it was only 8k instead of 10k. But I needed a sub-forty. I had to wait until the next day for my official chip time: 39:41. I have finally broken 40 minutes.

250 KM!

2008-09-22T19:25:00.001-07:00

I ran 10 miles on Saturday and got a nice surprise when I uploaded the run to the Nike+ website. Apparently I have run 250 km since getting my nike+, so they gave me this really cool certificate.

The 10 mile runs are paying off. I ran a personal best 10K today without really trying.

Less then three weeks to the big race, the Royal Victoria Marathon 8K Road Race....

10 Miles!

2008-09-06T22:00:00.001-07:00

Long distance running is about the heart, lungs and legs. I have been running interval sprints to strengthen my heart and lungs. I have been increasing my slow long distance training runs to improve my legs.

I have been slowly increasing the length of my long runs. The goal is to increase my stamina, or the ability of my legs to run at a pace near my lactate threshold. The theory is that the more I run at this pace, the more my leg muscles adapt to more efficiently utilize oxygen.

To put it another way, I already can sprint at a fast pace. But I can only sustain that fast pace for a certain amount of time. The long runs cause changes in my muscles which will allow them to sustain my fast pace for longer periods of time until I reach my genetic maximum. The hope is that my genetic maximum is at least 40 minutes!

So today I dragged myself out of bed and ran 10 miles (16.4) for the first time. 5K seemed like a long run a mere 2 months ago. Now even 10K seems short. My legs felt fresh until I hit the 12K mark at which point they turned to concrete. According to the running book I borrowed, this "dead legs" feeling is exactly what I am aiming for. The stress of running with "dead legs" causes certain biochemical signals in the muscle cells, and these signals instruct the muscles to recover in such a way as to improve their efficiency.

At least that is the theory. In any case, I am happy to report that my weekly mileage is up to more than 35k per week. I run 10K on Monday with the goal of a 1K sprint at the end, 5K interval sprints on Wednesday and Thursday, 5K easy running on Friday and Saturday is my 10 mile long run.

Now I have to do the most important part of my training...sleep.

Me and Big George!

2008-08-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

So Georges Laraque is a player in the NHL who used to play for the Edmonton Oilers. He is basically a fighter but still he is a pro athlete. Anyway, he and I have a long history of crossing each other's path without having ever met.

The first time we interacted was about 7 years ago. He was doing a call in radio show for the sports talk radio station in Edmonton. I decided to call in and ask him if he ever prearranged to fight people. For example, if the night before a game with Toronto he calls up Darcy Tucker and is like "Hey, so you want to fight me in the second period tomorrow?" So anyway, he called me an idiot on the radio and the next day my question was reprinted in the Edmonton Sun as the stupidest question of the night.

Then I moved away to Ontario for two years and then moved back to Edmonton. I had become something of a workout nut and guess who worked out at the same gym? That's right, Georges Laraque. I saw him all the time in my gym but we never spoke.

So anyway, I'm standing in line waiting for the Edmonton 10K to start and guess who I see about five feet away from me? Well the race started and he took off. But guess what? My official finishing time, 55:05 (chip time) was only 24 seconds behind Big George, the toughest guy in the NHL.

That was AWESOME!

2008-08-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

55:14! It all went according to plan. First of all, I didn't really sleep well at all last night. I thought I would but I didn't. I don't think I fell into a restless sleep until around 130AM. Not great to have two nights of no sleep before a race but since the race doesn't start until 10AM I could still sleep until 8AM so it was all good.

Riding the subway to the race with my number pinned to my shirt felt kind of weird. At least a couple of other runners eventually got on. Oh yeah, also had to run the race with my car keys and change for the subway home jingling in my pocket...at least they heard me coming.

And I did run them down. Basically, I started slow and it seemed like everybody passed me. I was running with the 60 minute pace bunny and we were both like "alot of fast people running today..." (both of us knew we would catch them later...) People were passing me at 2km who already were sweating and breathing hard like that scene in "Titanic"...I was surprised at how long it took for people to start dropping off though. I only started passing them at about the 4-5km mark, and then only 2-3 at a time.

I kept telling myself to "go slow", so that I would have some juice left for the final kilometer. Spectators were standing by the road and spraying us with hoses and squirt guns, which helped alot.

The course is basically straight and has only one minor hill at about the 7.5 km mark and that is where they started dropping out. I could see the group in the distance on the little hill. People were literally stopping, not just slowing down.

I finally passed the final group in the last 1.5 km. It felt awesome blowing by coins and keys jingling and everything. That's right...fear the ringing beast.

The final sprint was fun too. My power songs "Resurrection" from "The Passion of the Christ" and "My Name is Lincoln" from "The Island" brought me home. And I out sprinted some guy who kicked past me at the 8 km mark.

I'll post my official time once its posted on the race website.

The Day Before the Race

2008-08-15T15:12:00.001-07:00

The race is tomorrow! I can't stop thinking about it. My stomach is a little nervous.

Today we flew from Victoria to Edmonton. Apparently you are supposed to get your good night's sleep 2 nights before the race so that if you are too nervous to sleep the night before you are still okay. However, we had to get up at 4AM to make a 7AM flight this morning...so much for a good night's sleep. I'm so tired now I don't think I'll have any trouble sleeping tonight though.

After we arrived in Edmonton, I went downtown to register. There is a big tent with everybody's name posted with their entry number. You tell a volunteer your number and they get your gear for you. My gear bag includes: a cool free polyester running shirt (nice!), an entry number to pin on my shirt (#943), and an RF ID tag that you clip to your shoe so your race time is accurate ("chip time" instead of "gun time"). I also got a free 500 ml of Running Room water and a Powerbar. All this before a single kilometer is run!

My strategy is to start off relatively slowly for the first kilometer (6 minutes for the first kilometer) then pick up to an easy pace (5:45-5:30/kilometer) for kilometers 2-9, and finish the last kilometer in 4:30 or faster. It will take some discpline to slow down at first because I suspect alot of people are going to start out too fast and be passing me at first, so the temptation will be to charge out after them. But I am confident that I will catch the majority of them, and I wasn't going to keep up with the ones I can't catch anyway.

Anyway, thats the plan. We'll see how it plays out once the racing starts.....

14 Days to the Race!

2008-08-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

Not long ago, I went for a 10K training run with my wife's Uncle Rob. Before we ran, he asked if I was going to stretch. "You never see race horses stretch," I joked. "That's why their careers are so short," he shot back.

Later I developed a severe pain in my left knee. The injury cost me two weeks of running, during which time I could feel the fitness drain out of my body. After the pain subsided, I tried to run again, only to have the problem recur within 2km. I was scared and frustrated that I would never run again.

My brother Aaron competes in triathalons. So I decided to ask his opinion. "It sounds like an iliotibial band syndrome," he pointed out, "Basically you need to stretch and use an IT band roller." A visit to a physiotherapist who also happened to be the Canadian 10K cross country champion confirmed the diagnosis. The solution: stretching along with ice.

I call it my "aftercare", the stretching, yoga, rolling and icing that I do after every run. I now spend more time on my aftercare than I do running.

Don't Try This At Home

2008-07-31T19:08:00.000-07:00

Its that time of year again. Time to shave my beard. I was going to grow it out but somebody suggested that my 10K was slow because of all the wind resistance my whiskers created so I decided then and there to remove both of them...

can't say I feel any faster now...

Can't believe there are only 16 more days to the Edmonton 10K!

510 Seconds

2008-07-10T15:04:00.000-07:00

40 minutes is 2400 seconds. That is how fast I want to run 10k. Right now it taks me 48 minutes 30 seconds. That's 2910 seconds. I need to run each kilometer 51 seconds faster. It sounds so easy! Here is an update of my training as found on nike + website.

http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/?l=runners,runs,14554880

Real Estate Investing

2008-07-05T00:06:00.000-07:00

Of course, it isn't a trip to the Big Island without taking a helicopter tour over the volcano. We were lucky to have 4 active vents to fly over. The picture shows a vent that is about 200 yards across. The lava is about 1000 degrees and created heat waves which could be felt inside the chopper. The helicopter is equipped with cameras to take footage of your flight. There is also an on-board camera to occassionally show the passengers inside the chopper during the flight. One of the other passengers threw up...right when the on-board camera was filming. Chicken salad croissant, $5. Helicopter tour of the volcano, $250. DVD footage of you hacking up the chicken salad croissant during your helicopter tour...priceless. (Actually, the DVD was an extra $40 and one of the other passengers bought it...)

Just relax.

2008-07-02T23:13:00.001-07:00

I'm in Hawaii where its warm and quiet. The conference is going well. Today was the helicopter tour of the volcanoes. We flew over four lava flows and a couple of lava fountains. Like the sign says, "just relax!"

Rewards

2008-06-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

How do you reward yourself for achieving goals? I ask because this was the happy predicament I found myself in last week. My debt was finally paid off completely....for the third time. Hopefully this is the last time. It took only two months to accrue but six months to repay. In any case, it is gone and now it is time to celebrate.
Instead of the usual dinner and a movie, I wanted something different and memorable. As I was riding the ferry home, I saw a cupboard full of brochures for tourist attractions. Whale watching and obscure museums weren't appealing and likely required a permission note from my mom. Deep sea fishing sounded like work. Ziplining, however, had a youthful and adventurous appeal.
So today, to celebrate my new found fiscal health, I strapped on a cool yellow helmet and a very snug harness and hurled myself over the forest. This included 150 feet high wooden tree perches that swayed in the wind, 1000 foot zip lines that took over 40 seconds to traverse, and "the screamer", a final ride reaching up to 65 kph. Best reward ever. And I paid for it all with my Mastercard.